The Lebanese army said it had found 1.3 tons of fireworks during a search of Beirut port, which was devastated last month in a huge blast that was blamed on a large quantity of highly explosive ammonium nitrate.
The army’s general command said in a statement, released on its website on Friday, that 1,320 kilograms of fireworks were found in 120 boxes in a warehouse during a search of the port. It said army engineers disposed of them.
The port and a swathe of central Beirut was ruined by the huge blast on Aug. 4 that killed at least 190 people. It was blamed on 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate kept at the port for years in poor condition.
Warehouses and concrete grain silos at the port were destroyed.
The army said on Sept. 3 it had also found a further 4.35 tons of the same chemical near the entrance to Beirut port.
